I have never been a girl who can go on a "diet." In theory, eating more of somethings and less of others sounds great, but I don't have enough willpower to make it practical. I will not completely give up bread, meat, cheese or other things that taste good. And I have a hard time avoiding my favorites (which are not necessarily the best for me). That said, I truly believe in moderation and not overindulging (even if I'm guilty of it every now and then). I also believe in trying to make better food choices. When it comes to eating well, I need three things -- it has to taste good, be easy to make and be relatively inexpensive. There are a ton of resources for this online. My favorites are Hungry Girl and Bethenny.
Although I enjoy cooking, my true love is baking. I love the warmth, the smell and, of course, the taste. One of my favorite treats to share with friends and coworkers are my pumpkin spice muffins. I got the recipe from a friend a few years ago. Everytime I make it, I tweak it a little just to try and see if I can improve it. Sometimes I put a light drizzle on them, sometimes I merely top them with some cinnamon sugar. Plain or topped, these are a great sweet treat. They're easy, and they make the entire house smell like pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Ingredients
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin
1 boxed spice cake mix
1 egg white or 1/4 c. egg white substitute
3 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to the temperature listed on the cake mix box. Stir the pumpkin, cake mix and egg white until moist. It will take awhile, but everything will blend without additional moisture. Add the cinnamon at this stage, if you choose to use it. Spoon the mixture into lined cupcake trays and bake for the time listed on the cake mix. Remove and let cool on a counter or cooling rack. If you want, you can top with a light icing or a cinnamon/sugar mix.
Makes about 18 muffins at about 120 calories each (without the cinnamon).
This post is part of a recipe link-up with some of my #shredcrew ladies. Check out the other recipes over here at Elleinad Spir's blog.
My son loves all things pumpkin. I will try these for sure!!
ReplyDeleteI loooooove pumkin too, definately trying this!
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you on this. I wrote about it in my post... Not willing to give up certain foods, and it needs to be easy (& taste good!). Love the Hungry Girl, but I haven't heard of the other one. I'll look her up!
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